Let-off motion fob looms



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

W. H. GRAY, OF DOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

LET-OFF MOTION FOR LOOMS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 24,553, dated June 28, 1859.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. GRAY, of Dover, in the county of Stratford and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Let-Off Motions of Power-Looms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l, is a vertical section of a power loom, parallel with the warp, illustrating my invention. Fig. 2, is a front view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two ligures.

This invention consists in a certain novel and simple means through whose agency the tension of the cloth and warp produced by the action of a positive take-up is made to govern the delivery of the yarn from the yarn-beam, and the warp is kept uniformly at the tension desired, irrespective of temperature, moisture, or any other influences, and consequently the cloth is made of as uniform a quality and texture as the natural and unavoidable inequalities of the yarn will allow.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A,l is the yarn beam; B, the breast beam; C, the cloth roll; D, the take-up roll; and E, the cam shaft; all applied to the loom and arranged in the usual manner.

The take-up roll D, has secured to one end a spur gear a, which gears with a pinion on a short shaft c, which works in a suitable boX d, secured to one side of the loom framing, and which has also secured to it a ratchet wheel c, in which engages a pawl f, attached to the strap of an eccentric g, which is fast on the cam shaft, and which, by its revolution with said shaft is caused, through the agency of the pawl, to produce a positive movement of the take-up roll to take up the cloth. The ratchet Wheel e has a stop pawl it', applied to prevent its return. This take-up mechanism is of a kind well known to weavers.

F, is a shaft fitted to work in boxes z', z', attached to the side framing of the loom, and having fast upon it an endless screw y', which gears with a worm gear 7c, that is secured to one end of the yarnbea1n. This rshaft F, is shown as being arranged hoririving a continuous motion, when the-loomis in operation, from a screw-threaded wheel H, which is fast on the cam shaft E. The worm gear G, has permanently secured to it one part I, of a clutch, the other part J, of which is litted to the shaft F in such a manner that though it is capable of sliding longitudinally on the shaft, the latter is compelled to rotate with it.

K, is a plate or board suspended in front of the stationary breast-beam of the loom by journals 7c, k, which fit to boxes Z, Z, secured to the breast-beam; said journals being formed upon or attached to the said plate or board near its upper edge. This plate or board K, has springs a, a, applied between its back and the front of the breast beam, which springs press said plate forward away from the breast-beam; and it also has a slot m, near its bottom, said slot being of a length at least equal to the width of the cloth that is woven in the loom and is parallel with the top of the breast-beam. The said plate or board K, is connected by a forked rod L, with the sliding portion J, of the clutch I, J, and a spring M, is applied at the connection in such a manner that it will tend to push the clutch and the plate or board K, apart.

The cloth, which is shown in red outline in Fig. 1, passes from the top of the breast beam down behind the plate or board K, and thence through the slot m, and down under the lower edge of said plate or board to the take-up roll; and as the tension of the cloth is greater or less, it overcomes the pressure of the springs n, n, in a greater or less degree, and draws said plate or board K, more or less toward the breast beam. While the tension on the cloth is no greater than is required, the springs n, n, hold the plate or board K, so far forward as to keep the sliding portion J, of the clutch out of gear with the revolving portion I, that is attached to the worm wheel G; but every time the tension increases beyond the desired degree, the plate or board is drawn back so far that it, by its action on the rod M, throws the porrtion J, of the clutch into gear with the p01'- tion I, and by that means causes the shaft F to revolve with the Wheel G, and to turn the breast beam through the action of the screw j, on the Worm Wheel 7c, and thus cause suflicient yarn to be let o. In this Way the cloth and yarn are kept at a sufficiently uniform tension for all practical purposes.

The clutch Which I have shovvn on the shaft F, has the portion I, in the form of a cylindrical rim and the portion J, made with tvvo dogs p, p, applied to act like a toggle, and press outward against the interior of the rim of I, when pressed tovvard that portion; but it may be an ordinary friction clutch, .or of any other kind.

Instead of being arranged in front of the breast-beam, the plate or board K, may be applied on the top'of the Vbreast-beam, and in that case the connection With the rod L, should be by an arm attached to the said plate or board and arranged perpendicular' with the crank-shaft.

I do not claim, broadly, the governing of the let-oil by the tension of the Warp. But What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The board or plate K, and springs n, n, applied to the breast-beam of the loom and combined With a clutch by Which the yarnbeam can be thrown into gear With the camshaft or crank-shaft of the loom. to operate substantially as and for the purpose herein described. f

W. H. GRAY.

Witnesses:

JOHN A. Srorrono, T. S. CLoGs'roN. 

